The BJP did not succeed in convincing EPS to bring back Sasikala into the party for the 2021 assembly elections, though OPS was open to the idea.
“The BJP knows OPS’s strength in the southern districts, so they will be willing to support us. But this is the situation now, so we are trying to bring together like-minded cadre and leaders,” said a supporter of OPS who was also ousted. “Everybody knows that the way OPS was sent out of the party was wrong. Since the courts and the Election Commission of India (ECI) have held EPS’s elevation as general secretary of the AIADMK valid, OPS has been cornered. With the trio belonging to the same Thevar caste joining forces, voting patterns from previous elections show that the Thevar vote bank would go to them, weakening the AIADMK-led NDA alliance’s prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP has been keen on uniting various factions of the AIADMK so that the votes do not split with TTV’s 5-year-old party, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK).
With O Panneerselvam (OPS) and TTV Dhinakaran getting closer, driven by their ouster from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and VK Sasikala set to meet OPS soon, this emerging faction is likely to further strain the ties between AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu, experts say. Chennai: On May 8, O Panneerselvam met TTV Dhinakaran at his residence in Chennai, held a joint press conference, joined hands and announced their decision to work together.
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